Buying presents will earn you brownie points AND encourage you to help others

Thinking about giving and not receiving motivates people to help others, according to a new university study.

We are often told to ‘count our blessings’ and be grateful for what we have.

And research shows that doing so makes us happier.

But will it actually change our behavior towards others?

A new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggests that thinking about what we’ve given, rather than what we’ve received, may lead us to be more helpful toward others.

Researchers Adam Grant of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Jane Dutton of The Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan wanted to understand how reflection, in the form of expressive writing, might influence prosocial behavior.

They observed that when we reflect on what we have received from another person, we might feel an obligation to help that person, but the motivation to help doesn’t necessarily extend to other people.